In line with many of the recent technology forecasts, smartphone penetration has skyrocketed, urging businesses to rethink their mobility strategy. Locally, statista.com has reported that the number of smartphone users in South Africa will reach over 25 million by 2022. In 2017, the number of smartphone users worldwide was estimated to be approximately 2.32 billion – and could increase to 2.87 billion by 2020. This has massive ramifications in the workplace, where employees now expect to use their own devices (known as Bring Your Own Device/BYOD) instead of company phones and desktops/laptops.
For local business owners and employers, BYOD is arguably very positive. In an embattled economy, businesses don’t necessarily have the money to standardize on top-tier name-brand hardware. With regards to smartphones, this is especially relevant as many staff already have their own – and using personal devices saves their employers a great deal. Before BYOD, a business would have had to purchase the hardware to ensure their staff were on email 24/7. Now, it’s becoming almost a given – and without any capital expenditure requirements.
Boosting Employee Engagement
In addition to the cost savings, allowing staff to use their own devices arguably boosts morale and promotes employee satisfaction as well as productivity. Notably, a CITO Research report unveiled that more than half (53%) of all workers polled feel they’re more productive when they have their own devices. This makes sense, because workers are familiar with their own devices and interfaces, shortening the learning curve and enhancing overall usability. A Frost & Sullivan study sponsored by Samsung captured the actual time savings related to BYOD, finding that using personal devices for work activities saves employees 58 minutes each day, providing a 34% increase in productivity. For SMEs in particular, this can make a huge difference to profitability in both the short and long term.
As with any technology trend, however, there is a dark side to BYOD. It undoubtedly leaves many businesses vulnerable to data leaks, malware and theft of valuable intellectual property. You can build huge walls protecting your network from outside threats, but when someone brings a threat in, the results can be catastrophic. This is particularly risky when dealing with employees who are privy to sensitive information and who have high-level decision-making powers. Today, using platforms such as LinkedIn, it is relatively easy for hackers to identify who these individuals are within any organisation. Indeed, we could be heading for a future whereby high-level staff (Financial Directors, CIOs, CEOs, etc) are identified and targeted. A memory stick could be dropped in their driveway, for example, or their home Wi-Fi network could be hacked…
Creating Robust Policies & User Guidelines
With the above risks in mind, it has become critical to develop and implement a comprehensive enterprise mobility strategy. The IDC estimates that by 2020, 72.3% of the global workforce will be mobile. As a result, businesses must quickly address their policies and make sure their approach is the right one – meaning that it aligns with specific industry needs, corporate policies, size, culture, budget, IT, etc.
Today, corporates are exploring three main approaches:
- Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
- Choose Your Own Device (CYOD)
- Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled (COPE)
While the pros and cons of BYOD are well known, there is less research available when it comes to the latter two options.
CYOD is one of the newer approaches, and it is when companies give employees an approved set of devices from which to choose. The primary advantages of CYOD are that it can reduce hardware costs as compared to COPE. The end-users are still in control of their technology, but the support and procurement standards are more streamlined given the more homogenous pool of device options. On the downside, users may be unhappy with their options; it does not eliminate hardware costs and the end-users may struggle to manage repair and replacement. This can be considered the ‘middle of the road’ of the three options.
Unsurprisingly, bigger and more established companies are more likely to adopt the COPE model, as it maximizes control over mobility. Employees are given smartphones that are paid for by the company, meaning the business maintains ownership of the devices. There is some flexibility involved as well, as enterprises can still offer employees various options. It’s a favourable choice for financial institutions and healthcare providers, which have strict legal and regulatory policies to comply with. Naturally, COPE offers organisations the most control and authority over all mobile devices – which results in lower security concerns than BYOD and CYOD. Importantly, a COPE strategy requires that the business embrace a very proactive, agile and innovative approach to keeping pace with technology.
Harnessing Encryption & Remote Wiping Tools with your Mobility Strategy
Within the SME environment, BYOD will likely dominate – which means that strict policies should be implemented. For savvy business owners, there are numerous policies available online which can be studied and used in a way that suits the organisation.
Today, an often overlooked and easy-to-implement mobility strategy is encryption. Users do not realize how easy it is for someone to access all of the data on their phone or laptop if it’s lost or stolen – and encryption prevents this. Likewise, organisations often under-appreciate how important this data is, and how it may be treated. When in the wrong hands, emails, contacts, notes, pictures and more can be accessed fairly easily and this could be massively harmful to any business. Fortunately, there are various software tools available that can enable remote wiping, as well as encryption.
With corporate cybercrime turning into a daily reality, it is essential that every business owner and manager becomes familiar with the risks associated with BYOD – and that a tailored and robust enterprise mobility strategy is implemented.
